Want another sneak peek at Shojo Fashion Manga Art School Year 2? We think you’re going to love seeing this fashion manga art, so we’re offering a look inside.

Find out more about IMPACT Books by liking us on Facebook and following us on Pinterest and Twitter!

And if you like Manga, you’re going to love our other manga and comic-related books! Check out Supittha Bunyapen’s Shojo Wonder Manga Art School for creating playful, colorful manga characters using Copic Markers.

Check out Mark Crilley’s video on drawing a winking chibi character.

And while you’re picking up Mark’s book, preorder Irene Flores and Krisanne McSpadden’s Shojo Fashion Manga Art School Year 2 so that your characters can be dressed in fine style!

Find out more about IMPACT Books by liking us on Facebook and following us on Pinterest and Twitter!

We at IMPACT Books also want to thank everyone who has picked up a copy of Mastering Manga, either in physical book or eBook form! Have something to say about it? Leave your review on our shop page or a link to your own reviews in the comments. We want to hear what you have to say!

Thanks for helping us share the news of the great pre-order event from Barnes & Noble.com for Mastering Manga With Mark Crilley. As a token of his appreciation, Mark has created an AWESOME wallpaper as a thank for gift for everyone who bought his book and helped to promote the sale on YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook! Download it here.

Additionally, we’re so excited about this book that we’re going to give you early access to some great extras!

Find out more about IMPACT Books by liking us on Facebook and following us on Pinterest and Twitter!

Mastering Manga is available for preorder from Barnes and Noble today only for half off! Go preorder it today at the Barnes and Noble website! You’ll be glad you did.

And if you like this, wait until you see what Mark has to offer in Mastering Manga With Mark Crilley! Get it now.

“The heart and soul of great art is the ability for the artist to be vulnerable.”
~Bert McCracken (via Facebook)

Check out our pinterest for the stuff that caught our eye this week and follow us to see what we add to it. What caught your eye?

Did you catch our quick tutorial on embellishing angel wings? You can find that and a whole lot more in Angela Sasser’s book, Angelic Visions.

And yesterday, we posted a sneak preview to see Mastering Manga With Mark Crilley. Check it out, along with the cover for the upcoming Shojo Fashion Manga Art School: Year 2.

I gotta tell you, Mark’s book isn’t even out yet, and already, it’s popular, which, as its humble editor, thrills me! But I can’t claim much credit, it’s all Mark and he did an excellent job!

We came across this great image over on Facebook. I love it!

Dean Haspiel is giving a storytelling workshop at MOCCA. If you can, go.

If you’re all grown up and looking for places to get your art on, hit up Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School. If you don’t go, you’re missing out! Pay attention to the age restrictions, but otherwise, join or start one in your area for a great chance to draw from live models. And these models never disappoint!

Have you been to any art openings lately? Sadly, I missed this one. LA is so far away. High on my wishlist: unlimited air miles so I wouldn’t have to miss things like this. But at least we have pictures! If you get a chance, though, get out and experience some art firsthand.

Graffiti writer David Choe has been in the news since getting paid in Facebook shares has made him rich, though the fact that he tagged Barbara Walters is far more impressive, don’t you think?

Want to see what’s in store for you when you buy Mastering Manga with Mark Crilley? Check out this copy from Scribd.

Once you’ve learned how to draw bodies from Mark, you might also be interested in pre-ordering Shojo Fashion Manga Art School Year 2 for all the great fashion tips and tricks. Just click on the covers to visit northlightshop.com for these and other great IMPACT and fine art titles.

Check out this awesome promotional video for Mastering Manga With Mark Crilley!

Be sure to preorder his book from our North Light Shop and we will ship as soon as it’s available!

Check out this free demonstration from Mastering Manga With Mark Crilley!

The Father Figure

Some manga stories take place in a world populated only by teenaged characters, where adults have seemingly been banished from the scene. Still, even the most youth-obsessed story will have at least a couple representatives of the adult world, and if you’re going to draw them properly, you’ll need to learn an entirely different system of body proportions. Manga grown-ups are much closer to real human anatomy. Many of these adult characters have smaller eyes and fully rendered noses that we are more likely to associate with Western comic book characters.
1 Build Your Frame
Begin by drawing eight horizontal lines, equally spaced. You’ll want them to be at least an inch or more apart to allow for details
later on. Draw your character’s head between lines one and two.

2 Create the Torso
Draw the neck, shoulders, torso and right arm with a rough indication of his hand. His left arm is hidden behind his body. The bottom line of the torso is about two-thirds of the way between lines four and five. This guy’s pretty big: almost three heads wide across the chest. His hand extends just a touch beyond the bottom line of his torso.

3 Sketch in Legs and Feet
There’s no need to worry about the width of his ankles because his pants cover them. The right foot touches line eight. The bottom line of his left foot is about one third of the way up between lines seven and eight. There is a slight diagonal lean to the legs. This will help to convey his solid, confident stance.

4 Add Fingers and Hair
Add a hairstyle suitable to his age and personality. You could even leave him bald. Refine the hand, showing the curve of his fingers. The angle he’s holding his hand makes the index finger look longer and hides the thumb.

5 Draw Clothes
Place his tie, lapels and buttons closer to his left because he’s standing at an angle. Suit coats don’t wrinkle much, so draw just a few lines near the elbow and shoulder.

6 Fine-Tune
Add folds to his trousers and drape the cuffs following the curve of his foot. Add soles to the bottom of his shoes.

7 Finish It
Add ink and, if you like, gray tones or color. He doesn’t look like a teenager, and that’s exactly what we want. 

2012 is going to be an exciting year! Do you do resolutions? If so, what are some of your goals this year relating to your art?

Here at IMPACT Books, we want to help! We have a great year ahead of us with some exciting books coming out, including Mastering Manga With Mark Crilley, an awesome book showing you everything you need to know about drawing characters and scenes in a true manga style. Mark doesn’t just cover the basics; he shows a wide variety of figures and faces; characters that you need to make a dynamic story, but aren’t covered in other how-to books. Check out his website at markcrilley.com and look for his book to be in stores in March and you can preorder today!

In May, look out for some fun Color Workbooks heading your way. I don’t want to give too much away yet, but I can guarantee you’ll love the the instruction from a variety of your favorite IMPACT Books authors, plus lots of line art you can color yourself!

You’ll start Fall off right with some breathtaking dragons, and be ready to mark your holiday wishlist for new, adorable furries and their friends.

And that’s just a small sampling of what we’ll have on offer. This year we plan to offer you more comics, more fantasy, more graffiti, and more everything you love to draw and want to learn!